A review by lithographic
Children of God by Mary Doria Russell

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Children of God is much more plot focused than the previous book, still full of the author's characteristics religious and philosophical musings, but less centered on one person's reckoning with the evils of the past. Instead, our focus becomes wider: to the rapidly shifting political state of Rakhat told through many different points of view, and to the crew of the Stella Marie which carries Emilio towards a final reckoning with the place that affected him so profoundly. 

File under: books that would be wildly entertaing, but exhausting, to have both a book club-secular or religious-and a high school English class read and discuss.